The clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1883-1888, 1887-11-02
TEETH FOR THE POOR.
A Charitable Boston Lady's Undertaking.
AdYanfnres of Sound Teeth.

Advantages of Sound Teeth.
a few days ago, when out of town for
a holiday, saw a boy with refined and
handsome features, and having altogether
a very accurate and clever face. whose
teeth were evidently in a bad way. l told
the boy that he had better have them at
tended to. | reminded him that he was
rather good looking-at that age boys
may be good looking without knowing it
land that scarcely anything was so de-
structiye of good looks as bad teeth; that
he seemed clever, and that he might
some day be a rich or a great man, but
that 81 900, 600, should he ever possess
such sum, would not buy him a set of
natural teeth. He said that his father
was dead, and that his mother had lost
her place in the factory, and that it was
out of the question for him to think of
going to dentist.
That charitable Boston lady who estab-
lshed a few years ago a fund to employ
dentists TO look after the teeth of the
children in the Boston public schools had
perhaps in view such a case as this. l do
not know if that charity still flourishes.
1t struck me at the time as a most sensi-
bic one. There is scarcely any money so
well laid out as that spent upon the care
of teeth. There are only thirty-two of
them and they are very little things; but
their presence is a great comfort and or
nament, and their absence a great dis
comfort and Disagreement. A moderate
carefulness about them in childhood and
youth will in most cases insure a long
possession of them.
Americans have the name of having
extremely bad teeth. 1t needs but little
observation to discover that they have
not gained this repute unjustly. Being
lately in the country New London), l
heard there was to be fair in the neigh
borhood which would be largely attended.
One always learns something by going to
such places, and / went. | thought the
faces of the people very intelligent and
the features handsome; but noticed that
many of them, particularly the women,
seemed TO have bad teeth. Perhaps enc
reason why we have the best dentists in
the world is that the national teeth are
bad.
In comparison with the immense adj
vantage of having sound teeth, the ex-
pense of good dentistry is small. But
there are many thousands to whom even
that expense is impossible. Here is an
opportunity for such charities as that of
the kind hearted Boston lady. But am
not sure that dental hospital in each of
the great cities would not be better
thing even than that. They have such
an institution in London. Sir James
Paget. the first of English surgeons, has
said that he considered the London Dem
tai hospital to be 1.-THE best institution of
the kind in the world. Certainly an in
stitution which cares for the teeth of
40, 900 poor people in the course of the
year must be the cause of great deal Of
comfort 1t must educate these classes
to sense of the importance of the mat
ter. This kind of education is often
necessary. do not think, for instance,
. that so many American women would
have such bad teeth if they had been
taught what a great beauty sound teeth
are 1t seems to me that this London
charity might be very well initiated in
this country. Had there been such an
institution IN this city. what a boon it
would have been to the clever and hand
some boy of whom spoke in the begin
ming. John Arbuckle in N. Y. Sun.